26/06/2014 – Following the publication of the Child Poverty Strategy 2014-17, the Poverty Alliance has called on the UK Government to re-think their approach to child poverty. The current strategy ignores the macro-economic context and the demand side of the labour market, choosing instead to focus on the individual causes of poverty. The strategy also pays no regard to independent child poverty predictions and focuses too heavily on work as a way out of poverty.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance said:
“While the Government has re-stated their commitment to eradicating child poverty by 2020, the strategy falls short of what is needed and ignores independent predictions on child poverty figures.
“It is now almost impossible for the child poverty 2020 targets to be met and the UK Government needs to acknowledge this and take action now.
“The strategy ignores the structural causes of poverty and in fact, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions states in his forward that the Government is committed to tackling poverty at the source ‘be it family breakdown, educational failure, addiction, debt or worklessness’.
“This putting the blame on the individual is unhelpful and creates a stigma around poverty.
“The strategy’s ways of making work pay are about making the situation for those out of work worse e.g. the benefit cap doesn’t help anyone into well paid, quality work and does nothing to combat growing levels of in work poverty.
“We would urge the UK Government to re-think their strategy now to avoid pushing more children into poverty”.
ENDS
The UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324103/Child_poverty_strategy.pdf
For more information contact Carla McCormack, Policy and Parliamentary Officer on 01413530440 or email carla.mccormack@povertyalliance.org